Build Your Brand, Anchor Your Community, Initiate Impact

Get Busy Extending Yourself
Guest Post by Cheryl Conklin
cherylc@wellnesscentral.info
www.wellnesscentral.info

Connecting with your community is the best way to encourage real change for your neighbors and beyond. Whether you have ample resources or are looking for ways to enact change in small ways, consider these ideas for helping out and rising up.

Volunteer Your Time, Effort, or Cash

Spending time, effort, and money (if you can) is an excellent way to begin making a change in your neighborhood. From volunteering with different groups to developing resources on your own, there are plenty of ways to get started. Or, you can always write a check to your favorite organization to make a monetary impact.

• Find local committees for causes you’re passionate about and join up.
• Explore volunteer opportunities in your state through California Volunteers.
• Donate cash to a cause (and document the details for a charitable contribution deduction on your taxes).

Share the Love (and Your Stuff)

Sharing your gently used belongings is one way to help lift your community up, especially if you donate unwanted items to homeless or women’s shelters, children’s organizations, or not-for-profit thrift stores.

• Choose a national organization that is active in your community and drop off your clothing items.
• Give your furniture and household items new life by gifting them to a Habitat for Humanity ReStore in your area.
• Crowdfund entrepreneurs and families all over the globe through a microloan program like Kiva; donors’ small loans add up (and you get your cash back later).
  

Grow Your Own Impact

What if your community has a stark lack of volunteer opportunities? Or maybe you want to reach farther than your neighborhood or city. Digging a little deeper to grow your own effort for change might be the perfect move.

• Embrace entrepreneurship by starting a nonprofit agency and filing as an LLC with a local or global reach. You’ll also need to seek out the best LLC registered agent to act on behalf of your company when dealing with the state.
• Explore the definitions and parameters of public charities, foundations, and other nonprofits before jumping in to ensure you follow the rules.
• Put together fun virtual events to attract attention to your efforts.
• Investigate guidelines in your state regarding nonprofits operating as Limited Liability Corporations.
  
  

Effecting change can start with the smallest of actions – whether you volunteer, donate, or launch your own nonprofit organization, progress is the key. Getting involved with causes you care about expands your horizons, builds your brand and does good for the people around you – it’s a win-win.